Chapter 038: Rules of the Martial World

Seeing Lu Qing's appearance, Sakura's expression froze, the teasing on her face clearly turned into confusion. Her bright eyes scanned the surroundings, then turned back to him, she looked at him seriously and asked cautiously:
"Little brother, where is your sister?"
"I, I don't know!" The girl in front of him was radiant, causing Lu Qing to become increasingly uneasy. At this moment, the people in the hall had gathered around, surrounding the two of them. Lu Qing instinctively felt the danger, and his peripheral vision quickly scanned the surroundings. Seeing that many of the people surrounding him had an unfriendly expression, he suddenly became alarmed. He quickly wiped away the tears on his face with alternating hands, forcefully blinked his eyes, and shook his head, "I'm sorry, I mistook someone for another person."
"You don't need to apologize to me, young man," Sakura's surprised expression disappeared from her face, replaced by a smile. "However, I want to tell you, if you want to stay here and look for your sister, you at least have to abide by the order of the venue, don't you think so?"
She looked gentle and her voice was kind yet firm.
In a daze, Lu Qing's tear-filled eyes reminded him of how his sister used to communicate with him when he made mistakes accidentally. Her attitude and tone were gentle, but she never let go or gave up on the things he had done wrong. Even though he knew that the person in front of him was not his sister, Qiao Feiyan, he still nodded involuntarily.
Sakura on the opposite side saw the situation and showed an approving expression on her face. She turned her head and whispered a few words to the white-suited "Yanyun Jun" beside her. Yanyun Jun leaned down and listened, his face suddenly showing anger and a look of dilemma. Just as Sakura was about to persuade again, a hearty laughter rang out from behind the two:
"Yanyun, today is a day of great joy for our Liangjiang Gang. Those who can come at this time are either our neighbors or friends from the martial arts world, all of them are esteemed guests. We... should all extend our warm welcome."
A burly man walked out of the laughter, moving like a tower.
This man had a northern accent and a rectangular face. He appeared to be in his early thirties, and despite wearing a long robe, it did not diminish his aura of strength and fierceness. He approached, laughing heartily, and glanced around before beckoning to the onlookers. He said, "Someone, take this young brother to the martial arts hall and have a seat, so he can watch the performance with friends from the martial arts world."
Just as his words fell, a person immediately responded and came to his side, bowing respectfully and offering to lead the way: "Please, little brother."
The demeanor of this big man in front of him was completely different from the "Yanyun Jun" in the white suit just now. It reminded Lu Qing of the big brothers in the Jiu Yun Gang in the mountains, who always had such a heroic and domineering presence. They would often appear vividly, making him feel somewhat desolate in his heart. At the same time, he felt a bit awkward because he had never been treated so seriously by people in the martial world before.
He didn't know how to respond appropriately. His mind raced for a moment, and he decided to be honest. He blushed and turned to the big man, awkwardly explaining, "Um, sir, I'm not here to observe any rituals. I'm here to find someone. You guys can continue with your business, don't mind me. As soon as I find the person, I'll leave."
At this moment, the big man on the opposite side also stopped bothering and slightly bowed, saying, "Since that's the case, then little brother can take your time looking. We'll take our leave first."
Lu Qing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, nervously returning the courtesy. After the big man led the elegant and beautiful woman into the inner hall, he nonchalantly slipped into the crowd, looking around for quite a while but not seeing anyone familiar. After a while, he glanced around in all directions, seeing that no one was paying attention to him, and then confidently moved towards the inner hall.
The entrance to the inner hall was already crowded, with no room to move. There were sounds of clashing and occasional shouts coming from inside.
It seemed that inside was a large courtyard, but it had been modified: a big domed roof covered the courtyard, with only thin beams of sunlight filtering through between the eaves. There were corridors on all four sides of the courtyard. At this moment, the second-floor corridor was also crowded with people, all eyes staring down. Obviously, a large martial arts stage had been set up on the courtyard floor, and there were people practicing martial arts on the stage. This should be the so-called "Martial Arts Hall" of the Two Rivers Gang.
Lu Qing tiptoed and stretched her neck. She saw that there was a martial arts field inside, where two youths were holding knives and spears and practicing back and forth, inseparable and difficult to distinguish.
There were many people in front of her, and Lu Qing was worried about Xie Yuzheng and others. She wanted to squeeze in, but when she tried several places, people were unwilling to make way. Just as she was about to use force, she suddenly heard the sound of the practice inside the martial arts hall stop, and the noisy voices from all around decreased significantly. After a while, there was a chaotic sound of footsteps from the martial arts platform, and the entire martial arts hall became even quieter.
Soon, someone else stepped onto the martial arts stage, followed by a resounding voice: "Ladies and gentlemen, friends, today is a good day. Our Liangjiang Gang has been in Xiaguan for quite a while. With the help of all our friends, we are finally able to hold the Gang's inaugural conference today."
This voice is very familiar, and Lu Qing suddenly realized that the person speaking was the burly and bold man from earlier. He tiptoed to get a better look and saw a sea of heads, with the iron tower-like figure of that man standing firmly in the gaps. The man's voice was extremely deep and powerful, penetrating the thick crowd in the vast venue, allowing Lu Qing outside to have a rough idea of what he was saying.
But the northerner accent of that big man made Lu Qing feel like a muddy mountain torrent in a heavy downpour, and the meaning in his words was not clear. She could roughly guess that the big man first thanked people from all walks of life for their support, then spoke some jargon from the martial world, and suddenly shifted gears to talk about the rules on Xiaoguan Street.
At this time, another person came on stage. Listening to the introduction, that person was some kind of official from the Nanjing Martial Arts Association. It is estimated that he is also a martial artist, as he also has a strong aura, just with a smaller voice, speaking in the official language. Lu Qing also couldn't quite understand, only intermittently catching on to what the person was saying. He mentioned that the Martial Arts Association upholds the spirit of the government, advocating for everyone to practice martial arts. One reason is to improve physical fitness and longevity, and the other reason is to prevent bullying and theft.
Soon, it seemed like the man had finished speaking, and there was a buzzing sound among the audience. After a while, another voice spoke up. This person also seemed to be an official from the National Martial Arts Association. He started by saying that the Association also cared about the happenings in the martial arts world and strongly promoted exchanges and discussions among different sects...
The person spoke for a while and requested everyone present to be quiet, stating that the next speaker would be Police Chief from Xiaoguan Police Station. Lu Qing, who had grown impatient with the previous few speakers, became curious again and pricked up his ears, listening carefully.
The voice of the police chief soon rang out, and his voice was quite unpleasant, echoing on the stage like a broken gong.
But he was quite straightforward, starting off by introducing himself, and then getting straight to the point about the rules on Xiage Street. The general idea was that Nanjing is the capital of the country, and every action is being watched by the world. The various gangs on Xiage Street should also prioritize peace. In case of any disputes, they might as well follow the rules of the martial arts world and settle them through a tournament.